PERU RESUMES HUMANITARIAN DEMINING

C O N F I D E N T I A L LIMA 001350

SIPDIS

STATE ALSO FOR PM/WRA (YESCALANTE AND ETRIMAKAS)
SOUTHCOMM FOR JMATOS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/07/2019
TAGS: PREL KHDP MOPS PTER SOCI EC PE
SUBJECT: PERU RESUMES HUMANITARIAN DEMINING

REF: 08 LIMA 01732

Classified By: Ambassador P. Michael McKinley for
reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) Summary: Overcoming past shortcomings and deserved
skepticism, Peru recently resumed humanitarian demining (HD)
operations in parts of its shared border with Ecuador and at
other sites within its territory. Senior GOP officials
expressed gratitude for the USG's "crucial" assistance, and
highlighted HD's continued relevance to the 1998 Brasilia
Peace Accord and Peru's steadily improving ties with Ecuador.
MFA officials have told us that demining could become an
important GOP 'deliverable' at roundtable talks with the
restive Amazon indigenous whose lands are affected by mines.
The next challenge is to make Peru's mine action program
sustainable, so that it can meet its Ottawa Convention
obligations and make the country mine-free. End Summary.

Mine Threat
--------------

2. (U) More than 400 persons have been killed or injured in
Peru by various types of anti-personnel landmines, according
to local authorities. Mines were first implanted in the 1980s
to protect high-tension electricity towers and power plants
from attacks by Shining Path (Sendero Luminoso - SL) and
Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement (MRTA) guerrillas. In
1993-96, mines were buried around three maximum security
prisons to dissuade escapes, and around police anti-narcotic
bases as a defensive measure. Sections of Peru's common
border with Ecuador remain affected by landmines, explosive
remnants of war and unexploded ordnance as a result of the
1995 "Cenepa conflict with Ecuador. A new mine threat has
emerged in the drug-producing Apurimac-Ene River Valley
(VRAE) as SL regularly employs homemade improvised explosive
devices and booby traps against the GOP's security forces.

Overcoming the Past
--------------

3. (C) Since HD efforts began in 2000, Peru's uneven
performance caused some donors to question its seriousness
and commitment to a Humanitarian Mine Action (HMA) program.
GOP officials tended to blame slow progress on the costly
logistics of operating helicopters in the remote and rugged
mountain jungle, and on other competing defense needs, such
as the campaign against SL in the VRAE. USG assistance
practically ceased in 2006, until the GOP presented the
Embassy with a formal request for assistance in 2007. PM/WRA
responded in 2008 with $200k for equipment and a preliminary
contractor assessment. In 2008, 767 mines were destroyed. In
2009, almost no mine work was done until two technical
consultants began to advise the MFA, army and police, while
USSOUTHCOM provided much-needed training and classroom
equipment to the Peruvian army (EP) engineers at the demining
school in Bagua. Results thus far have been auspicious: EP
engineers destroyed their first mines at Chiqueiza near the
border on August 26-27 and on September 7, police deminers
began mine sweeping around Castro Castro maximum security
prison in Lima. (Note: Approximately 40 pct of the facility's
roughly 1,240 inmates are SL. End note.)

Political Significance
--------------

4. (C) Humanitarian demining is expected to again top the
agenda when the presidents and cabinets of Peru and Ecuador
meet in Piura next October to mark the anniversary of the
Brasilia Peace Accords that put an end to decades of
hostilities between the two countries. MFA officials have
told us that Peru places a premium on cementing its ties with
Ecuador, particularly since tensions have increased with its
southern neighbors of Chile and Bolivia. (Comment: On
September 9, VMOD Jose Antonio Bellina told the DCM that Peru
was also an important intermediary "hinge" in patching up the
relations between Ecuador and Colombia. End Comment.) MFA
officials have also told us that the long overdue demining in
the remote Amazon basin is a deliverable to the Shuar-Huampis
indigenous people who were involved in the June 5, 2009
violence in Bagua that left 24 policemen and 10 natives dead.
One leader from the indigenous organization AIDESEP, told
Poloff that many Shuar served as uncompensated scouts for the
Peruvian military during the 1995 conflict with Ecuador and
are angry that their territory is still contaminated by
explosive remnants of war.

Other Benefits Possible
--------------

5. (C) Peru's Mine Action Center (CONTRAMINAS) is
headquartered at the MFA. Its head, Minister Counselor
Vitaliano Gallardo recently thanked Emboffs for State
Department's and SOUTHCOM's assistance. He observed that the
resumption of humanitarian demining is likely to generate
good will towards the U.S., improve the security of Peruvians
and Ecuadorians, reinforce positive Peru-Ecuador bilateral
relations and enhance regional stability. Another official
implied that success on demining could have a beneficial
impact on Peru's participation in future international
peacekeeping operations (PKO). Gallardo said that the MFA
intended to showcase Peru's demining progress by soon
inviting senior foreign diplomats to tour installations and
possibly visit minefields.

Road Ahead
--------------

6. (C) Restarting demining operations should help to dispel
past pessimism and attract future donor support. In the
meantime, Embassy expects that continued NADR funding will be
needed for us to remain engaged in Peru's HMA program over
the next 2-3 years. The priority objective is to strengthen
CONTRAMINAS' capacity for civilian oversight through
continued contractor support. Training and logistical support
for the specialized army (DIGEDEHUME) and (DIVSECOM) police
units are also needed. The plan is for the police to finish
its work within one year and then deploy to the border to
assist the army. Other contemplated areas of cooperation
include victims' assistance, infrastructure improvements for
the demining school in Bagua and mine-sniffing dogs. Peru has
28 minefields that contain an estimated 28,000 anti-personnel
mines -- not including the politically-sensitive and heavily
contaminated one km sq. Ecuadorian battle monument of
Tiwintza, located inside Peruvian territory. (Note:
CONTRAMINAS' officials have told us that they are concerned
that Tiwintza could one day be politically exploited by
nationalists in the same way as was the case on Peru's
maritime claim with Chile. End note.)

Comment:
--------------

7. (C) Peru adheres to the Convention on the Prohibition of
the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of
Anti-Personnel and on Their Destruction ("The Ottawa
Convention"). Convention authorities in Geneva have given
Peru an eight-year extension to rid the country of mines by

2017. Embassy believes that Peru can make or beat this
deadline by 2-3 years if it continues to stay the course and
attract further donor support. The resumption of demining is
good news on many levels, and it could not have been
accomplished without the commendable dedication of PM/WRA's
Edmund Trimakas, MAAG's LTC Rene Rodriguez and Ronco
consultant Stewart "Sandy" Powell. End Comment.
MCKINLEY